The New York Knicks want to trade for Donovan Mitchell, but have no intention to overpay the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz have extremely high trade demands and have already rejected a Knicks offer that included Evan Fournier, Obi Toppin, additional salary, three protected first-round picks and two unprotected first-round picks.
Utah turned down the offer and asked for more, but New York is unwilling to give up all its assets for the superstar guard.
“It’s not about the players in the package. It’s not about the amount of first-round picks. According to sources, Jazz president Danny Ainge and Knicks president Leon Rose are at a Donovan Mitchell stalemate over really one thing — the amount of ‘unprotected’ first-round picks in the package,” Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.
#Jazz, #Knicks haggle over unprotected picks https://t.co/7MgAYfeIic
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) August 22, 2022
Landing Donovan Mitchell will let New York become an Eastern Conference powerhouse in the foreseeable future. However, giving up so many assets will prevent them from making trades for many years, which would be catastrohic for the team’s title chances.
The Knicks and the Jazz initially engaged in talks in mid-July, but Utah’s extremely high trade demands paused talks. However, the two sides re-engaged in talks recently, aiming to strike a deal before the start of the preseason.
Donovan Mitchell still has four years and $134,8M left in his current contract with the Jazz.
